The Acid Rain
by Ryunimate
Summary: I imagined the commitee speaking to Minato at my funeral, telling him that they knew I was just a kid and it was my own fault for getting into such adult matters. Kakashi would probably stand there and nod. KakashixOC
1. Kids

Hey hey hey! Sorry that I jump around on stories so much - but I have the attention span of... a small child. I guess. I don't know. Anyway, right now I'm into Naruto - therefore, here is a Naruto story. This is kind of just an introductory chapter, but it's interesting... to me. :D

Enjoy! :3

This whole thing was written several years ago under a Quizilla account called Itachisasuke. It was a complete failure and I was so appalled by what I'd done to Kimi, I decided to revive her and make her at least somewhat presentable to the general public. :) Her background story is a lot more complex and I actually took the time to think things out. ;P

Namikaze Minato is Yondaime Hokage, also known as_ "_**_that guy who looks a lot like Naruto. Hmm I wonder why._"**

* * *

"Stop! Don't move! I'll..." the small voice hesitated; "I'll kill you!"

Minato turned to see the small girl in the grass, shaking as she held a kunai in her small hands. "Hmm? I'm sorry, me?"

"Don't talk to me like that!" The girl had dried tears on her cheeks and large cuts on her arms. "I may look small, but I could kill you!"

Minato smiled; "Surely you don't see me as a threat. I didn't even see you. I'm Namikaze Minato. Who are you?" She was silent, still trembling. "Where are your parents?"

"Quiet! D..." The girl shook her head, new tears trying to fall. "Shut up."

He made a face, thinking; "Who are you?"

The girl looked to the ground, seeming to decide to give up to the adult. "I'm Kimi."

"Just Kimi?"

She looked indignant, avoiding Minato's gaze. "Saitō... Kimi." Minato's expression went blank at the confession. "I'm from Hinodegakure in the Land of Oceans," she continued, curious about his reaction.

"Well, I'm from Konohagakure from the Land of Fire. How did you get all the way out here? The Land of Oceans is closer to the Land of Mist."

"I know my geography!" she shot; "I took a boat."

"My apologies," he said, smiling again. "So, once again, where are your parents, Saitō Kimi?" Kimi turned her face away from him, pretending to ignore him. Minato looked at the ground; "Well, do you want to come to Konohagakure with me and we can find your parents with the ANBU?" Kimi nodded, walking slowly towards Minato. "Here, let me have the kunai. We don't want you getting hurt... How old are you, Kimi-chan?"

"Four."

* * *

Minato sat quietly at the end of the long table across from the Hokage, surrounded by fellow jounin who stared at him incredulously. Kimi sat happily in his lap, her hands playing with the sleeves of the long Komon that hung loosely off her. "Namikaze-san," one jounin, Inkada, started, "who is this child, and why have you brought her to a meeting?"

"Gentlemen, Hokage-sama, this is none other than Saitō Kimi of the Hinodegakure Saitō clan." Minato paused, looking down at the young girl, whose eyes had been covered by a blindfold he'd insisted on. "We met just outside of the village - apparently she took a boat from the Land of Oceans all the way to our coast." He smiled at Kimi, who returned it full-heartedly.

"Why would-"

"Namikaze-san, why did you bring her to Konohagakure?" the Hokage asked calmly.

"Hokage-sama, she has the bloodline jutsu of the Saitō clan - she came here to escape the Land of Oceans and I couldn't just leave a four-year-old alone in the wilderness. You know-"

"I'm aware of the consequences of being alone in the forest, but we cannot have possible safety-risks being taken into our village without proper consultation."

"Sir," Kimi murmured, sliding the blindfold from her eyes. The green irises had melted away into a bright blue that reminded the group of her origins. She stared into the Hokage's eyes; "I'm of no safety concern. I promise - Minato-san said he'll take care of me if you let him. Please? I have nowhere else to go." The Hokage faltered before nodding jerkily.

"Kimi-chan," Minato scolded gently, "you shouldn't use that on important people like the Hokage." Kimi grinned up at the man, releasing the Hokage, her eyes fading to their original spring-green color.

"The Saitō clan have a special bloodline jutsu that allows the member to control the mental functions of any individual they catch the eye of - this includes physical and verbal actions," Minato explained carefully. "Kimi is no exception. As you can see, she is amateur, but can still invade the mind of the Hokage. She is a valuable asset to the village as a shinobi, and, because she is young, she can still learn that the Land of Fire is her home."

"She has one week to prove her allegiance to Konohagakure or else she's going back to Land of Oceans - war or not," Natasuritu muttered, taking over for the angered Hokage.

* * *

"Minato-senpai!" Kakashi glanced up slowly as She approached the trio entering Konohagakure. She wore a loose-fitting kimono that dragged behind her as she walked, adding to the childish look surrounding her. A hintai-ate was shoved down to cover both of her eyes, forcing Kakashi to wonder how she wasn't falling over herself; instead, she moved with the grace any hintai-ate would imply. "M_i_nato-senpai! Finally, you're back! Where's Obito-kun?" She moved her head as if looking between the remaining members of the group. "And what's happened to Hatake-san's eye?"

Kakashi scowled beneath his mask at the child - no more than 9 years old - standing before him with a stolen hintai-ate worn improperly - as to impede any shinobi's visual abilities - and her Komon too loose to allow any form of fighting. If anything, she were nothing more than a clever academy student who'd stolen her father's hintai-ate to show off. To continue Kakashi's distate, she'd called his sensei _senpai_ - as if he would ever be lowered to be a _childs_ peer. However, Minato-sensei replied; "Goodmorning, Satu-chan. You're asking a few too many questions at once." Minato-sensei laughed, further confusing Kakashi.

"Sensei, if I might ask, who is this _child_?" Kakashi murmured bluntly, ignoring the indignant look _Satu-chan_ gave him.

"This is my..." He trailed off as if thinking of what to call her.

"I'm Minato-senpai's best friend!" the girl told him. "I'm Kimi-chan, but you can refer to me as _Saito_-_**san**_."

"I don't think I'll be needing to refer to you as anything at any time," Kakashi muttered in reply.

"Anyway, where's Obito-kun?" Kakashi glared at the girl. She seemed innocent enough, but he still felt enraged as she announced the name of Kakashi's fallen teammate to the world.

"Satu-chan, come here. I need to talk to you alone." Kakashi and Rin - who'd been watching quietly - watched as their sensei walked the girl away from the two, speaking quietly. Kakashi glanced sideways at Rin, who stood silently, staring at the ground before them. His stare followed her's to a small rock, drowning him with memories of merely a day before.

"Hatake-san!" He turned on his heel in time for his mouth to meet with her fist. "This is _your_ fault!"

"Kimi-chan!" Minato shouted as Kakashi responded to her with a kick to her cheek. "Kakashi-kun!"

"You killed Obito-kun with your stupid fucking _principles_!" Kimi accused angrily, grabbing Kakashi's ankle as he pulled it back, running backwards to drag him along. He let her, deciding to let _her_ get smacked by Minato rather than him for fighting. "If you'd gone to help Rin-chan, Obito-kun wouldn't be dead! You fu-" Kakashi stared at her through the clearing upturned dust and dirt as she seemed awestruck. "Is... Is that the sharingan?"

Kakashi tore his leg from her hold, standing before her. "It's Obito-kun's sharingan..."

Her jaw clenched for a moment before she broke into a smile. "Obito-kun sees through your eyes now..." Kakashi looked away, taken aback by her blatant mood-swing. "Is that correct?" He nodded uneasily. Minato walked up behind Kakashi, glaring half-heartedly at Kimi as she ignored him. "Obito-kun was supposed to train with me today; we've been training together for the past few months. I want you to go with me tomorrow. I want to see if he's really still around. If you don't come, you'll just prove that you have nothing left of him."

"Kimi..." Minato seemed to be gritting his teeth to avoid getting angry at the girl. "Go back home. We need to check in with the Hokage and you have things to be doing." Kimi stared for a moment before leaving with the same uneasy subtletly as she'd come.

* * *

"So, you came..."

Kakashi ignored Kimi's words as he entered the clearing she'd designated. "Are you even out of the academy yet? Hell, are you even _in _the academy?"

She scoffed loudly; "Of course not. I was trained by Namikaze Minato - fuck the academy. _I_," she continued smugly, "am a shinobi of Konohagakure _just like you_. Now, let me fight you."

Now it was Kakashi's turn to laugh, though venomously."The only truth in that sentence is my sensei's name. Other than that, everything you just said sounds like _bullshit_."Kakashi ignored the fact that the nine year old had dropped herself into a fighting stance, one palm facing him. He huffed; "I'm not going to-" He was cut short as Kimi's fist drove into his stomach, sending him jumping backward.

"Enough talk, Baby Fang. Show me the result of an Uchiha's eyes and a Hatake's mind."

Kakashi glared at her, moving his hintai-ate to uncover his Sharingan - a style he'd just picked up that morning in an attempt to dodge most of the stares he would've otherwise received. "Stop talking as if you know me,Saitō-san."

"Believe me - I know more about you than you might find comfortable," she told him, grinning in misplaced amusement. "I met your dad once - I was only four or five, but I met the White Fang, and I have to say..." she paused, taking in Kakashi's scowling expression, "he really was a hero for what he did-" Kakashi rushed forward, his foot connecting with her jaw solidly, sending her flying backward as soon as the last word fell from her lips.

She caught herself, grabbing at the dirt with her fingertips to steady herself. "Idiots like you deserve death..."

"Big words from a boy who can't control his own reactions." Kimi wiped her mouth of blood from biting her cheek nearly clear through. Kakashi stared in a newfound curiousity as the green of her eyes bled into the white, replaced with the blue of the ocean. "Come on, Hatake-kun, you can call me Kimi-chan. So, are you like your father?" Kakashi's hand found his kunai, but he quickly discovered that his arm was frozen. "Do you seek ultimate glory as a shinobi, or do you find happiness in your friends and morality?" The hand glided slowly up to Kakashi's own neck, the blade of the kunai pressing against his throat couldn't feel his legs or other arm - only the feeling of dozens of hands holding his arm in place.

"What is this...?"

"Proof, Hatake-kun." Kimi beamed, taking out her own kunai. "If you would just let the fact that you helped your friend by letting him live vicariously through you be real in your mind, we could all live happily and you could master that Sharingan of yours. You already killed your best friend - I wonder why you don't have Mangekyou by now."

Kakashi thrashed against the invisible hands to no avail; "Fuck you! _**I**_ didn't kill Obito-kun! I wanted to help him! But-"

"But...? Oh, what's that, Kakashi-kun? Are you breaking the rules again? Are those tears?" Kimi was a foot from where Kakashi was held, observing his reactions with a psychotic interest. "Just think - I could kill you right now with no problems. I hold your mind and body within my thoughts - if I asked, you would slit your throat for me and I could tell Minato-senpai that you just got carried away in your grief."

The hands released Kakashi and he dove for her, kunai in hand. He growled audibly as he hit the earth, Kimi standing in the same position several feet away. He continued to stab uselessly at her, failing to clear his left eye enough to see where she would transport herself to."Give up, Kakashi-kun. Let's just train in peace. I don't blame you for my best friend's death - I met Obito-kun only about a year ago, but he never seemed to enjoy killing. He was too much of a sweetheart, I think."

"You're only a fucking _kid_! You annoy me so fucking much when you speak like you have even an ounce of knowledge!" Kakashi yelled, his back to her as he sat with his kunai shoved into the ground.

"So are you, Baby Fang."


	2. Birds

"Kakashi-kun, I need to talk to you." Minato smiled at me, motioning for me to follow him away from Rin, who was training Kimi to be a mednin. "Look, I know you and Kimi don't get along very well, but I really need you to do something for both me and her." I stared at him uneasily.

"It's not train with her, right?"

Minato shook his head, staring blatantly at the scar over my eye. "No - see, it's Kimi-chan's birthday in two weeks. I-"

"Not this stuff, Sensei. Come on - I don't need Kimi-chan to think-" I folded my arms, glancing at Kimi, who was wrapping Rin's arm in a bandage.

"Kakashi-kun, please understand - Kimi-chan never went to the academy... she's only ever had friend that were _my_ age if not older. She needs people like you and Rin to talk to." There was a vague hint of desperation in my sensei's voice that was foreign to his character; he could have simply ordered me to - called it a small mission "for the good of Konoha," but, instead, he stood here trying to convince me.

"Please, Minato-sensei; she acts like she's five - she has _no_ social skills when dealing with anyone even _near_ her own age. How do you expect me to try to figure out what to get her? Anyway, _I_ don't even know - or care - about anyone my age, and Kimi isn't someone I would want to get to know at any time." I sighed in aggrivation as Minato continued to smile. "And I don't have money to spend on gifts for people I don't like."

"I'll give you the money."

"I don't know what to get."

"You have two weeks."

I closed my eyes and cocked my head, replying calmly; "Fine, Sensei - I'll get your freakish follower a birthday present."

"She's not a freak, Kakashi-kun. She's an incredibly powerful jounin with potential to be in the ANBU - you'd better get on her good side," he finished with an amused smirk.

* * *

Soft taps - _tch tch tch_. Kimi turned her head slightly, closing her eyes; in her mind, rain drops from the night before fell from pools made in the leaves; a woodpecker nibbled gently on a troublesome feather; a child was walking softly through the forest in search of a familiar face.

The latter of the three had Kimi straining to listen.

_Tch tch tch_

"Do you hear that?" she whispered to the ANBU, Lizard, beside her.

"The target?"

Kimi shifted, the fallen leaves and dew beneath her too noisy. The tapping stopped.

"What- _Fuck_!" Kimi was sent flying backwards with Lizard as the log they hid behind exploded into splinters and water, cutting into her exposing forearms. A large, grinning beast stood where they had been crouching, a child under one of its arms. The girl wriggled in its grasp, crying out to the Black Ops loudly.

"_**Target acquired**_," Kimi heard in her ear.

"Neutralize the target," Kimi ordered, flitting forward in time with the two hidden ANBU and Lizard, grabbing the beast by its arms and legs. The girl was dropped roughly and was taken by the mednin who'd been sitting in the tree above.

* * *

"Kimi-chan! How was your mission?" Minato grinned widely at me as I threw my hintai-ate onto the table, groaning. I slumped into the chair beside me and stared at him.

"I really hate missions. I want to sleep in for once. I hate being-"

"Don't say it," Minato told me softly, smiling still as he sat opposite of me. "Don't worry - you'll soon have your days to sleep in and be just a kid. However, until then, you need to prove to Sandaime that you're loyal enough to the village to sacrifice some of your childhood." Retorts ran through my head, but none were the proper thing to say; _Fuck the village. What about _me_? Why can't I just go shopping with Rin or go play in the Academy's obstacle course?_ Minato laughed; "I know what you're thinking, but all I can say is this: you are the most amazing shinobi prodigy I've ever known of, and you will accomplish great things in your life."

I smiled briefly; "Yeah, yeah. Of course I will - you _have_ to say that." We sat in silence for a few moments before a thought struck me; "So I'm turning ten Wednesday, right?"

He laughed again; "Well you should know, Kimi-chan! It's _your_ birthday."

"Psh, I barely remember meeting you - how should I know my own birthday?" Instead of celebrating the date of my birth, which was a mystery to not only myself, but Minato and the entire village counsel, we celebrated the day Minato found me running around with a kunai in my hands, threatening to kill every squirrel that ran by. Minato nodded, staring at the floor thoughtfully. "What'd you get me?" I asked excitedly.

"Hmm, I think you should wait," he murmured, meeting my eyes before turning and leaving, presumably to meet his team. I'd gone on my first mission with the ANBU into the Forest to find some monster-thing that was stealing refugees from their beds and tearing them apart. We'd only returned at around 7 in the morning, and I'd only gotten about an hour's sleep before restlessness forced me to see Minato off.

"W-wait! Minato-senpai! Let me go with you," I begged, following him to the door, suddenly overcome with a need to leave.

"Why, Kimi-chan? You need to sleep." He pulled the sliding door to reveal the front garden, a long stretch of green grass sprinkled with meticulously-placed flowers and shrubbery.

"Oh come on - I can't sleep - it-"

"Sleep, Kimi-chan. I'll be back before dinner, so I'll take you somewhere to celebrate." He smiled again; "Okay?"

I huffed. "Fine, but I get to eat _anything_, right?" He laughed as he left.

* * *

"Hatake Kakashi," Minato announced as he read off the ANBU's scroll, "you've been given a mission to accompany a group of ANBU and jounin for special services regarding the war." He finished unenthusiastically as if he'd read if for the umpteenth time. "Get going," he told me, winking in a vague form of support, motioning for me to follow the Lizard ANBU that stood beside him.

"Why are the ANBU working with jounin?"

"It's a large mission," Lizard explained as we moved to the meeting point through the streets. "ANBU are forming a sneak attack to lead to a distractive skirmish. Jounin and mednins will move out refugees and find and destroy any supplies or aid for the enemies." I nodded and we continued silently.

The group _was_ small for the mission - about six ANBU stood beside each other - Lizard, Bird, Snake, Bear, Hawk, and, one I'd never seen before, a Tiger - and 4 jounin and 3 mednin beside them. Tiger was significantly smaller than the others - seeming to be a child, if not an incredibly small adult - nearly my height. Lizard nodded to Tiger, and they moved to signal the group that it was complete.

"Alright, everyone," Bear started, his voice gruff as his animal suggested, "we're going to attack the group head-on, while the half the jounin find refugees and half scout out supplies to be destroyed. The group who finds people will bring them back to the mednins to be healed and taken to a sanctuary for the time being. Remember," he continued, turning to speak directly to the jounin, "the ANBU will not waste time, so your own time is limited. You will have approximately one hour to find whatever your group is assigned."

I stood by quietly as we were put into two groups - myself in the refugee-group - and we quickly dispersed.

* * *

_"Lizard-san, why do we have to wear these masks?"_

_"No one can know who we are, Tiger-chan."_

_"But what if I lose my mask? How will everyone know who I am?"_

_"Tigar-chan, _**I**_don't even know who I am anymore. Don't ask me how to tell who _**you**_ are."_

"Kakashi-kun is here?"

"You know him?" Lizard asked nonchalantly as we moved towards the enemy's camp.

"He's a friend of a friend, I suppose..."

We were silent for most of the run, the other four ANBU trailing from separate directions. We halted suddenly, the voices of men drowning the silence of the forest. They were all happy and, from what I could tell, drunk. All I could see from my branch was a couple of tents and a dog tied hurridly to a stick in the ground. I put my hands together, forming the tiger seal. "Tora Henshin no Jutsu," I whispered.

The men continued to move around their camp, ignorant of the six ANBU above their heads. My skin tingled as it was forced to move chakra to shape long stripes on my skin. My canines grew considerably and my nails hardened and elongated simulataneously. The jutsu was shown to me by the former Tiger ANBU, who had left due to some personal issue. She'd taught me the jutsu over the course of months until she could say that she was proud to let me wear the Tora mask.

"_**Tiger, go**_," I heard in my earpiece, sending me forward in a burst of adrenaline. I spread my arms out on either side, waiting for the delicious feel of yielding flesh separating beneath my fingers.

_"Get the fucking kid!"_

_"No fuckin' way I'm going near that - shit!"_

_"Just stab it, idiots!"_

_The world was red as I tore apart the men. Their faces were etched into my memory, eyes wide, blood escaping through their mouths. A man ran towards me, kunai out, and I jumped forward, appearing behind him. I grabbed the back of his head, twisting him like a ragdoll as I turned him to face his comrade, who ran in the same fashion towards us. I moved again, taking the fighting man with me as I appeared before the runner, shoving the fighter's face onto his kunai. I ran my claws through the air and grinned deviously as the skin of the other's face fell apart into bare muscles and blood before me. _

_Another was coming from behind me. _

_I bounded into the air, flipping onto his shoulders. Before he could react properly, I grabbed a shuriken and thoughtlessly held it, blades or not, tightly in my hand, ramming it down into his skull, using all of my arm's strength to ensure it was sent deep into his head, disappearing into the flowing blood and screams._

_Before I could think further, I was grabbed. Green flashed through my vision and I felt suddenly nauseous. The jutsu was fading - my nails were nearly their normal length and the stripes and faded considerably. It was the only excuse I had for being caught._

_When I was finally dropped, I stared into the mask of Bird, the ANBU who'd never once spoken to me. I stared up at her through my own mask, livid that she would dare impede the completion of the mission. "What the f-" Bird threw back her leg, a kunai appearing beneath it as she went to kick me. I rolled away awkwardly, my ribs aching from the harsh hold she's had. Bird's kunai continued to move as she turned her kick into a full jump, six more knives shoved between her fingers. She threw them before I could react correctly and I felt her foot smash deeply into my stomach, one of the kunai between her fingers stabbing deeply into my shoulder. "Fucking kids," she growled, standing above me calmly. She reached into my bag and pulled own one of my own kunai, stabbing it into the ground beside me, pinning the cloth of my shirt to the ground deeply._

I shuddered as my body wracked, trying to force me to cough out blood. I refrained, trying to hold in as much blood as possible to compensate for the river flowing from my abdomen and shoulder. I felt involuntary tears in my eyes as the movements made pangs of pain shoot through my wounds. For a moment, I admit, I thought of Kakashi - first because of Bird's words, then of him as _just Kakashi_. There was a brief glimpse of myself lying dead in the forest while Kakashi trained alone in Konoha and my heart felt as if it'd been torn apart - more than it probably was already.

There was a feeling of dread in what remained of my stomach as I imagined the commitee speaking to Minato at my funeral, telling him that they _knew_ I was _just a kid_ and it was my own fault for getting into such _adult matters_. Kakashi would probably be standing beside them, nodding.

Tears of pain now fell with those of a new feeling.

* * *

**Author's Note: :**D Oh hey. I started doing my AN's at the end of the chapter. :3

Anywhos.

OH NO! WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO KIMI?

WHY DID THIS HAPPEN SO EARLY IN THE STORY?

WHAT'S MINATO DOING RIGHT NOW?

I think he's eating some ramen.(:


	3. Water

_Kakashi-kun, come here... Please. This is the last of my chakra. Don't think that this is just your mind... I don't know where I am..._

Kakashi stopped suddenly, rooting himself to the tree branch, his teammates flying past him. _What the hell was...?_

_Kakashi-kun, goddammit. I'm dying I think. I can't see._

_

* * *

  
_

"Oh, h... hello, little bird..." Kimi laughed breathlessly. "Like... thebitchwho... stabbed me... Hey, wanna do something for me, little bird?" Kimi slurred, grinning to show teeth covered in blood. She closed her eyes and patiently focused her chakra to her left one - the one arm that worked. The bird hopped foward on the ground until it reached Kimi's outstretched hand, climbling carefully onto her index finger. Kimi smiled gently, letting the chakra flow painfully slowly to her finger and crawl up the bird's body to its head, attempting to control the bird. "Go get that boy for me, alright? I'll love you very much if you do..." Kimi turned her head back to stare at the sky as the bird flew from her finger. There was no assurance that the bird had understood the command, but it was all she could hope for. "Bye bye, little bird."

* * *

"Kakashi-san?" The mednin had returned to find the young jounin and stood uncertainly beside him. "Do you see someone?"

"I... think so." Kakashi searched desperately for Kimi's chakra, but found nothing; _She said she used the last of her chakra... How the fuck do I find her?_

"Kakashi-san," the mednin repeated, irritated at the young jounin, who wouldn't respond. Kakashi looked down at the tree branch he stood on. _Fuck, come on. There's got to be some way-_

_No more chakra, Shi-kun - look for the bird._ Kakashi's head shot up at her voice, searching wildy for a bird anywhere.

* * *

"_Kimi?" _Kakashi's voice stung my ears and interrupted what I figured would be my last thoughts. I nodded vigorously, against my better judgement, in order to shake the mask from my face. "Fuck, Kimi! What the fuck are you doing out here?"

I grinned at him, pretending we were back in Konoha and I'd gotten caught stealing his ramen again. "Hey, Shi-kun. I'm just playing ANBU. What're you doing?" He ignored me and spoke to the mednin beside him too quickly for me to follow. I shook again as I held in a hacking cough. "Oi d-don't... Where's the bird?" Kakashi still ignored me as he grabbedthe bandages from around his leg, pressing them tightly to my stomach. I felt nausea flood over me and I was forced to turn my head away from him in order to vomit mostly blood.

"Don't worry, Kimi-chan..." Kakashi murmured, sounding distant. I let myself relax as the mednin's chakra flowed through my wounds hastily. "No, no - don't close your eyes."

* * *

_"Hey, Kakashi-kun! What're you doing?" Kimi leaned against the railing of the small bridge I stood on, staring at me with ever-curious eyes._

_"Aren't you supposed to be training with Minato-sensei today?" I didn't want her to leave, per say, but her presense had a sort of awkward touch lately. Her attempts to annoy me had gone unnoticed and her teasing words were left hanging in the air while I continued to think instead of listen._

"Kimi-chan! Don't you dare fucking close your eyes," I growled, grabbing her hand to touch it to her cold cheek.

_"Well, I __**was**__, but he told me to see where you were instead. He's under some weird stress lately so training's been a little difficult." I turned to face her, my left eye struggling to focus in the bright sunlight. "I really like how your eyes look. You look so..." She turned her head, trying to think of the word. "... mature. Somehow like your dad." I grimaced beneath my mask. She was still talking like __**that**__. Like she fucking knew something. _

_I sighed inwardly. Minato had told me that she'd met my dad - among dozens of other well-known ninja - and really _did_ know what she was talking about, but I couldn't help my anger that came about whenever she spoke of him casually._

I laughed darkly; "Kimi-chan, if you close your eyes, I'll win, you know." There was a silence as the mednin continued. "I'll win because you won't be able to say that you're better than me anymore - I'll probably even get to finally eat some ramen in peace." The silence ripped into me as my mind reeled at the possiblities of Kimi's _not coming back home with me._

"Tch... Like you'll _ever_ be better than _me_, Shi-kun."

_"Whatever..."_

_"Oh, come on, Kakashi-kun - I know you don't like to admit to it, but your dad __**was**__ a hero. And so are you." I looked up at her from where I stared at the ground. "You saved Obito by letting some of him live through you." She smiled, her eyes twinkling. "Not to mention you're an amazing ninja."_

_

* * *

  
_

"Your breathing sounds kind of like the wind, Shi-kun." Kimi's head fell to one side, her face nuzzling into my arm as I carried her carefully. "I think of... a meadow, you know? The one Minato-senpai found me in. He... was like a god, you know? Or an angel..." Her expression fell into one of thoughtfullness. "I was so scared. I didn't know what was going to happen... Did the bird tell you?" I was surprised by her sudden change of subject.

"Kind of. I heard it chirping and I heard you talking to something."

"It was a sparrow." I nodded. Somehow it was expected that she was talking to animals. She was currently on a medication the mednin, Yakuze, had given her to numb the pain. "I named him Iruka-chan!" I shook my head.

"You're strange, Kimi-chan."

* * *

"Hey."

Silence.

The boy looked around before staring up at me from his lunch. "Hey! Why're you alone?" He looked around again. "Yeah, I'm talking to you! Why're you alone?"

"Uhm... I don't know."

"What's your name?"

The boy looked confused. "Why are you talking to me? You don't even go here, do you?"

I huffed. Minato had let me out of training early and I decided to hang out at the academy before finding Kakashi, and I'd discovered a boy with a long scar across his face sitting alone. "No, I don't. Now, what's your name?"

"Umino Iruka..." He looked hesitant. "What's... your name?"

"I'm Saitō Kimi." I smiled at him as I dropped myself on the wooden bench beside him. "May I call you Iruka-kun?"

"Yeah, I guess... Kimi-chan?" I nodded. "Sorry - how old are you? You look kind of young to have a hitai-ate..."

"I'm nine." Iruka looked taken aback, but I ignored it. "I've never been to the academy. What's it like?"

"How do you _that_ if you've never even gone to the academy?!" Iruka had set aside his food in order to talk more animatedly.

"Well, I've lived with Namikaze Minato since I was about three, so he's trained me and I got my hitai-ate when I was five and I've been a jounin for a few weeks." Iruka was red for some reason. He looked like he'd been slapped in the face as he took in my words.

"You were trained by the Yellow Flash? That's amazing. I..." Iruka looked away at the trees that surrounded us. I nudged him as he fell silent, trying to get him to continue.

"What's wrong?"

He sighed; "I could never be a jounin. I mean, I'm already twelve - you've got me beat by _seven years_."

"What do you mean! I'm just a cheater, probably!" I shouted, surprising him again, defending him instead of myself. "I'm just some weird prodigy kid! You look like you've been in a fight or two, though. How'd you get that scar, anyway?"

He shrugged, his depressed expression taking over his features again. "It's been there for a long time. I got in a fight."

"That's awesome! I really like it, Ruki-kun. It looks like something a ninja should have." He couldn't supress his laughter at my words.

"That's the weirdest thing I've ever heard, Kimi-chan." We sat for a moment before I piped up.

"Want to come train with me?"

"I've got to go back to class so-"

"I'll get you excused! Come on - this is way more important. I'll teach you to walk on the water!" I grabbed Iruka's arm and dragged him into the trees towards the pond.

* * *

"Alright, look - you have to focus your chakra into your feet so that, when the water meets it, the chakra keeps you above the water. The water doesn't even touch your feet."

Iruka looked miffed for a moment. He was soaked, having fallen in several times before. "I know, but it's not that easy to just _focus your chakra._ Why do you think I'm _failing_?"

"You're failing?!" I shook my head in disapproval. "We'll fix that, Ruki-kun. Look, come stand next to me. Now, close your eyes and imagine your chakra flowing in a whirlpool in your heart. Now run your fingers through the whirlpool and lead the water to your feet until you feel like you're floating on the ground." I opened one eye and grinned as Iruka's feet began to glow a faint blue. "You'll have to imagine your steps as movements of your chakra as waves. You have to make sure to keep moving your chakra down to your feet so that you don't fall in... Ruki-kun, you're doing it!"

Iruka's eyes snapped open and he looked down at his feet. He grinned as he found himself standing on the calm water. "Holy crap! This is awesome!"

"So you said that you're failing?" I asked softly. His face fell for a moment.

"Yeah..."

"Well let's fix that now. What do you suck at?" He laughed again at my blatancey, making me smile.

"I suck at clones... I suck at balance... I suck at pretty much everything."

"Let's start with something fun. How about elemental fusion!"

"Do what?!"

Iruka fell to the ground in exhaustion before the sun had even fallen completely. I smiled at him as I marveled at the attempt of an earth clone he'd done. The dirt behind him had risen and swirled to form a stunted version of the boy before he gave up. "You're amazing! See, you shouldn't be failing! Only someone awesome could have made this much of an earth clone in just one day." There was a breathless laugh from the boy before a calm, _Ahem_, came from behind me. Iruka and I turned to stare up at Minato and some angry-looking ninja beside him.

"Kimi-chan, what are you doing?" Minato asked, an eyebrow arched in amusement.

"I'm teaching my new friend how to not fail." The ninja beside Minato scoffed.

"Oh please - Umino Iruka has just been spending his time in the academy drawing stupid pictures and ignoring me."

"Not true," I defending, refraining from sticking my tongue out at the man. "In just a few hours, I've taught him to walk on water, make a perfect clone, transform into a fish, and," I paused to turn and point at the earth clone, "he's gotten really far on earth cloning!"

Minato stumbled over his words as he lay his hands on my shoulders, turning me away from Iruka and towards the man; "We're very sorry about Umino-kun's absense. We... Look, just... don't talk about this, please. Umino-kun," he said, facing Iruka calmly, "thank you for watching over Kimi-chan for the afternoon. I hope she hasn't caused too much... something. Goodbye." There was a flash of green and we stood suddenly just outside the forest, close to town. "You shouldn't be showing off to kids, Kimi-chan."

"Showing off?!" I huffed, grabbing Minato's arm to keep him from walking. "Why can't I just help people like you do? I was just trying to show Iruka-kun that it's not that hard to learn new things!"

"Kimi-chan... you're supposed to be a village secret. It's bad enough that my team knows about you, but now you're going and showing _earth clones_ to academy students. I made an agreement with the hokage when you came here that you would stay low and only go out on special missions. You can't-"

"Stop it, Namikaze-san!" I shouted. Minato looked shocked for a moment at my abrupt change in honorifics. "I didn't chose to be a fucking freak! Why don't you just go back to your Kushina-san! You've been around her so much lately - can't you just forget about me for a little while?!"

Minato looked truly saddened by my words and I looked down, abashed. "You know I love you, Kimi-chan. You're an amazing ninja and my daughter in every regard. Kushina-san is _also_ an amazing ninja and I love her just as much."

"No, I didn't mean to-"

"I know, Kimi-chan. It's alright. I know it's hard to adjust to having someone new in the house lately. Just think, though - soon you'll have a brother and a mother. We'll be a family like you said you've always wanted." Minato kneeled down to look into my face as tears formed in my eyes. "We can take you and the baby to the festivals and you can go on fewer missions so that you can have a _real_ childhood. I've always wanted a real family for you, Kimi-chan."

* * *

_I love my father, Namikaze Minato, more than anyone. He is the angel of my hell and the world to my nothingness. He's the father I never truly knew and the brother I'd always heard of._


End file.
